Graham's Blog
What engine did the Spitfire have?
Many people know that the Supermarine Spitfire had a 27-litre Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. What they might not know, though was that later models of the Spitfire used a 37-litre Rolls-Royce Griffon engine. And almost no-one knows that the Griffon was first run nine...
Was there a two seater Spitfire?
The vast majority of Spitfires were single seaters. But some Spitfires carried an unexpected passenger as well as the pilot. How? In 1945 Margaret Ada Horton was a WAAF (Fitter Mechanic Airframes) at RAF Hibaldstow airfield, a satellite airfield to RAF Kirton-in...
Top 19 facts about the Supermarine Spitfire
19 facts about the beautiful Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire was a short-range, high-performance fighter plane designed in the 1930s by Reginald Mitchell, chief designer at the Supermarine Aviation Works in Southampton. 2. Mitchell was diagnosed with bowel cancer...
Can a Spitfire break the Sound Barrier?
A Spitfire very nearly broke the sound barrier in 1944. In the 1930s a small number of aero-engineers recognized that the piston-engine and propeller were providing diminishing returns. Despite reductions in drag and increases in efficiency provided by slippery...
Who is fossil hunter Mary Anning?
Mary Anning’s discoveries of fossils along the coast of Dorset brought home the fact that southern England once was filled with giant monsters more strange and terrible than the wildest dream.
Spitfire: frequently asked questions
Which engine was fitted in the Supermarine Spitfire? Most Spitfires had the 27-litre Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Later marks had the 37-litre Rolls-Royce Griffon engine.
Merlins over Everest
A Supermarine Spitfire flew over Mount Everest in May, 1945. Then on 16 June another Merlin-powered aircraft, a Mosquito, made an “accidental” flight over Everest.
Cost of the Merlin engine
When I was writing my book about the Rolls-Royce Merlin I discovered some amazing facts. There has never been another engine more thoroughly, continuously, aggressively and successfully developed than the Merlin.
Which planes used the Merlin engine?
The Merlin engine was used in over forty aircraft during World War Two but it is mostly associated with the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, Avro Lancaster bomber and the de Havilland Mosquito.
How many cylinders were in a Merlin?
The Merlin was a petrol engine, which in a car or an aeroplane has to have many cylinders to make it run smoothly and powerfully. A single cylinder is OK for a small bike, and you can hear how rough they are! The Merlin had 12 cylinders.
11 Fascinating Lancaster Bomber Facts
1. The Second World War was the first war won in the air, and the Avro Lancaster was Britain’s premier bomber. Avro developed the Lancaster to meet the UK’s wartime need for a larger bomber that could go further and carry a larger payload. It was a reply to the...
What is the Antikythera mechanism?
The Antikythera mechanism is the oldest analogue computer in the world, made around 80 B.C. by the Ancient Greeks who knew why we have seasons such as Spring. It was found in a Roman shipwreck near the island of Antikythera (literally "opposite Kythera"- another...
Did George Mallory Reach The Summit of Everest First?
Many people wonder if Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were really the first to climb Everest. I went on nine expeditions to Mount Everest over 21 years to find the truth about another possibility: George Mallory. Was George Mallory the first to climb Everest with...
My sighting of Yeti footprints
The footprints in the snow were large, bigger than a human’s, with clearly defined toes. There was no sign of claw-marks. These prints looked as though they had been made only minutes before we arrived. I shivered and glanced around the deserted valley. We were the...
Bigfoot, Yetis and legendary beasts: real or not?
Here are some recorded sightings of yetis, Bigfoot and other legendary beasts covered in my book about the Yeti. What is interesting is that some of the "legendary" beasts were later found to be real, such as the gorilla. Could this mean that other creatures exist,...
Top 10 yeti and abominable snowman sightings
In the course of thirty or so trips to the Himalayas, I’ve heard many tales about the Yeti from Sherpas and they were clearly believers. There are very similar stories from local villagers all along the Himalayas, from Arunachal Pradesh to Ladakh, and even though the...